SENATE 


63d  Congress'! 
1st  Session  } 


j Document 
\ No.  3 


SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  THE 
UNITED  STATES 


ARTICLE  FROM  THE  NEW  YORK  COMMERCIAL 
RELATIVE  TO  THE  SILK  INDUSTRY 
IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


V 


PRESENTED  BY  MR.  GALLINGER 
APRIL  12,  1913. — Ordered  to  be  printed 


WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT  PRINTING  OFFICE 
1913 


V 


SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


AMERICAN  PRODUCTS  COMPARE  WITH  BEST  FOREIGN  WEAVES DEVEL- 

OPMENT IN  30  YEARS  RESTS  UPON  ADEQUATE  AND  SUSTAINED 

TARIFF  PROTECTION GREAT  MACHINERY  PLANTS  AND  FINISHING 

WORKS  DEPEND  UPON  DOMESTIC  SILK  TRADE. 


[From  the  New  York  Commercial,  April  10,  1913.] 

There  is  no  example  showing  more  pointedly  the  benefits  to  be 
derived  from  continued  tariff  protection  in  the  upbuilding  of  an  in- 
dustry than  that  relating  to  the  silk  manufactures  of  America.  In  a 
little  less  than  30  years  the  weavers  of  silk  piece  goods  have  developed 
their  trade  in  this  country  from  an  experimental  stage  to  a position 
where  an  aggregate  of  over  $200,000,000  worth  of  silk  products  is 
W disposed  of  annually. 

There  are  as  many  variations  in  lines  of  manufactured  silks  in  this 
Jfc  country  as  can  be  found  anywhere  else  in  the  world.  American 
ingenuity  has  contrived  machinery  which  is  capable  of  producing 
v China  silk,  fine  Japanese  silks  and  products  which  compete  on  equal 
terms  with  the  best  products  of  French  looms.  The  necessity  for  a 
constantly  increasing  output  of  domestic  silks  is  appreciated  by  the 
! manufacturers  and  they  show  a ready  willingness  to  invest  their  cap- 
ital in  silk  mills  and  machinery.  The  vogue  for  silk  has  increased 
from  year  to  year  until  now  it  is  estimated  that  American  women  and 
the  American  men  wear  more  silk  garments  and  use  a greater  quan- 
tity of  silk  ai  tides  for  household  decoration  than  any  other  nation  in 
the  world.  The  output  of  American  looms  has  increased  from  a 
paltry  total  in  1880  until  to-day  practically  87  to  90  per  cent  of  the 
goods  used  in  America  are  of  domestic  manufacture. 

The  basis  of  all  this  substantial  development  in  an  industry  that  is 
as  old  as  history  rests  upon  the  protection  afforded  by  tariff  legislation. 
The  policy  of  the  Government  toward  the  silk  manufacturer  has  been 
one  that  has  immediately  encouraged  manufacturing  enterprises  to 
undertake  the  production  of  silks  in  this  country  to  compete  with 
products  from  the  Orient  and  from  the  countries  in  Europe  where 
. wage  scales  are  low  and  where  all  other  elements  of  cost  are  on  a 
much  lower  basis  than  in  the  United  States. 

ADMIT  RAW  SILK  FREE. 

As  fundamental  to  the  encouragement  of  the  silk  industry  raw  silk 
is  admitted  free.  There  is  so  little  opportunity  for  production  of  raw 
silk  in  this  country  that  the  framers  of  our  tariff  schedules  have, 
almost  without  opposition,  agreed  to  admit  silk  in  its  raw  state  free 
of  duty.  Once  the  raw  silk  has  entered  this  country  it  has  to  pass 
through  successive  stages  of  finishing  before  it  can  be  worked  into 

3 


4. 


SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


broad  silks,  ribbons,  or  the  many  other  various  articles  in  which  it  is 
the  material  of  chief  value.  The  processes  through  which  raw  silk 
passes  before  it  is  ready  for  weaving  include  spinning,  throwing, 
twisting,  and  reeling.  Specialists  in  all  of  these  lines  have  developed 
their  plants  and  are  now  recognized  as  an  integral  part  of  the  indus- 
trial activity  of  this  country.  In  several  of  the  New  England  States, 
New  York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  and  scattered  through  a score 
of  other  States,  are  silk  plants  devoted  exclusively  to  the  preparation 
of  the  product  for  the  weaver.  All  these  plants  are  equipped  with 
high-priced  modern  machinery  and  a part  of  it  is  of  American  manu- 
facture. The  interests  involved  in  the  silk-machinery  mills  of  this 
country  alone  represent  many  millions  of  dollars  and  afford  steady 
and  remunerative  labor  to  a large  force  of  machinists.  The  men 
working  in  these  American  mills  are  paid  at  a rate  of  wage  which  is 
estimated  to  be  from  150  to  200  per  cent  more  than  is  paid  for  cor- 
responding labor  in  European  textile  machinery  plants. 

SILK  DYEING  INDUSTRY. 

A feature  of  the  silk  industry  which  deserves  most  careful  attention 
is  that  of  the  dyeing  establishments.  Many  silk  weavers  feel  that  the 
dyeing  of  their  products  is  a matter  which  requires  special  skill,  and 
they  derive  better  results  by  sending  their  fabrics  to  a silk  works  than 
in  attempting  to  do  the  work  themselves.  This  is  along  the  same  line 
as  followed  in  cotton  goods,  where  the  weavers  send  to  bleacheries 
that  are  centrally  located  and  are  equipped  with  every  facility  for 
rapid  and  perfect  finishing  of  fabrics.  Here  again  the  question  of  the 
cost  of  labor  is  met  with,  and  inquiry  develops  the  fact  that  the  opera- 
tives in  American  silk-dyeing  works  receive  more  than  double  the 
wages  that  are  paid  for  a similar  class  of  labor  abroad.  When  these 
considerations  are  all  taken  into  account,  it  demonstrates  that  the 
finished  product  in  this  country  must  necessarily  represent  a higher 
cost  than  does  the  product  of  foreign  looms.  It  is  to  overcome  this 
and  to  sustain  the  scale  of  living  generally  recognized  in  this  country 
that  the  tariff  schedules  imposed  are  regarded  as  equable.  Any 
inequalities  that  exist  or  changes  that  may  be  suggested,  it  is  declared 
by  those  who  are  interested  in  the  continued  prosperity  of  the  silk 
industry  in  America,  should  be  made  not  with  a view  to  destroying 
the  thriving  business,  but  to  correcting  mistakes  that  have  developed 
since  the  enactment  of  the  Payne- Aldrich  tariff  bill. 

From  the  earliest  settlement  of  this  country  to  the  present  day  it  has 
been  a fundamental  policy  with  the  American  public  to  encourage  the 
establishment  of  various  lines  of  industry,  so  as  to  make  this  country 
as  nearly  as  possible  independent  for  its  supplies.  The  early  colo- 
nists were  quick  to  realize  the  advantage  of  encouraging  in  citizens 
the  spirit  to  venture  into  industrial  lines,  and  bounties  and  tariff  regu- 
lations passed  in  their  favor  stand  upon  the  records  as  testimony  of 
the  early  fathers’  view  of  this  economic  problem.  In  those  days  and 
through  the  early  stages  of  the  Republic  there  was  no  talk  of  ‘‘legis- 
lating industries  out  of  business,”  as  is  now  so  frequently  advocated 
by  those  who  seek  to  put  American  manufacturers  in  direct  compe- 
tition with  the  world’s  cheap  markets. 


SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


5 


STRINGENT  LABOR  LAWS. 

In  regard  to  the  production  of  silks  in  this  country  it  is  to  be  noted 
that  the  various  stages  through  which  the  raw  silk  passes  until  it  is 
ready  to  be  worked  into  a silk  dress,  or  into  hosiery,  underwear,  or 
use  in  the  upholstery  trades,  furnishes  employment  to  a greater 
number  of  high-class  operatives  than  almost  any  other  branch  of 
trade.  These  people  have  for  many  years  been  employed  in  some  of 
the  larger  cities  of  this  country  and  have  developed  an  aptitude  for 
this  class  of  work  which  now  places  American  silks  of  all  classes  in  a 
position  where  they  can  compete  in  quality  with  any  made  elsewhere. 

It  is  the  fact  that  the  American  looms  are  now  turning  out  such 
superlative  products  that  is  the  reason  for  legislators  to  suggest  that 
we  compete  on  even  terms  with  foreigners.  This  hasty  conclusion 
loses  sight  of  the  fact  heretofore  mentioned  and  many  others  that 
conclusively  prove  that  manufacturing  in  this  country,  whether  it 
be  silks,  steel,  or  any  other  line  of  merchandise,  involves  a higher  cost 
than  elsewhere. 

One  thing  that  is  of  vital  importance  and  of  determining  influence 
in  fixing  prices  is  the  strict  enforcement  of  labor  regulations  in  the 
mills  of  this  country.  Unions  are  practically  organized  throughout 
the  silk  industry,  and  they  have  succeeded  in  having  laws  passed  by 
State  legislatures  that  cut  down  the  hours  of  operation  per  week  to 
a much  lower  point  than  in  foreign  mills.  A 54  to  57  hour  week  in 
this  country  would  strike  the  average,  while  abroad  some  mills  are 
run  on  a 64  to  68  hour  weekly  scale,  and  in  China,  Japan,  and  some 
European  countries  where  the  production  of  silks  is  done  in  a primi- 
tive fashion  and  for  the  most  part  in  homes  of  weavers  no  restriction 
as  to  hours  of  labor  can  be  enforced.  Getting  down  to  the  actual 
wages  paid  in  American  mills,  statisticians  who  are  willing  to  furnish 
figures  to  Congress  are  prepared  to  prove  that  the  pay  envelopes  of 
American  operatives,  taking  in  all  classes,  average  from  100  to  125  per 
cent  in  excess  of  the  general  average  of  silk  operatives  in  any  other 
country.  As  most  of  the  competition  in  silks  comes  from  Japan, 
China,  France,  and  Italy,  where  in  each  instance  the  labor  scale  is 
low  as  compared  with  our  country,  those  who  have  their  millions 
invested  in  silk  plants  feel  that  they  are  justified  in  putting  their 
case  before  the  American  public  and  in  asking  for  a fair  hearing. 

When  the  last  generation  was  considering  the  question  of  purchas- 
ing silks,  there  was  little  choice  between  the  makeshift  American 
products  and  the  imported  broad  silks,  whether  in  blacks  or  in  fancy 
colors.  Our  mothers  and  grandmothers  were  obliged  to  depend 
upon  the  word  of  the  importer  and  retailer  that  the  goods  offered 
were  the  best  quality  of  European  silks.  Prices  on  these  goods  were 
always  high,  and  to  possess  a silk  dress  was  considered  a sign  of 
luxury.  It  has  been  a quick  transition  from  this  state  of  affairs  to 
the  present  day  when  women  are  wearing  silk  for  almost  all  pur- 
poses and  when  the  garment  trade  is  establishing  itself  as  the  chief 
distributor  of  ready-made  silk  skirts,  dresses,  and  shirt  waists,  to 
say  nothing  of  the  multitude  of  outer  garments,  such  as  automobile 
wraps  and  cloaks  either  all  silk  or  silk  lined.  Among  men  the  use 
of  sdk  hose,  underwear,  and  silk  fancy  shirts  is  becoming  almost 
universal  in  the  class  who  do  not  have  to  work  at  manual  labor. 
The  output  from  year  to  year  during  the  past  decade  has  shown  an 


6 


SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


almost  arithmetical  progression.  The  largest  manufacturers  of 
hosiery,  for  example,  show  that  their  sales  have  increased  at  the  rate 
of  a million  dollars  a year  for  the  past  seven  years,  until  their  gross 
sales  for  1912  exceeded  $9,000,000  and  the  current  year  it  is  expected 
will  put  them  well  over  the  ten-million-dollar  mark.  A very  large 
percentage  of  the  product  of  this  organization  was  in  silk  underwear 
and  hosiery  for  men  and  women.  The  use  of  silk  underskirts  has 
developed  a separate  branch  of  the  garment  trade  in  this  country, 
and  the  output  of  those  factories  from  year  to  year  runs  into  enormous 
figures.  The  silk  manufacturers  of  wide  goods  have  been  quick  to 
adapt  their  products  to  this  new  channel  and  are  manufacturing 
classes  of  silk  of  a specially  strong  texture  which  give  good  service 
when  made  up  in  skirts  for  street  wear. 

FULL  RANGE  OF  STYLES. 

The  basis  of  the  first  American  silk  weaving  in  this  country  was 
the  production  of  staple  black  silks,  but  it  was  very  soon  discovered 
that  buyers  were  determined  to  have  a full  range  of  colored  silks 
and  fancy  silks  shown  them  if  they  were  to  divert  their  purchasing 
from  importers  to  domestic  producers.  Before  the  American  silk 
manufacturer  could  branch  out  into  the  production  of  colored  and 
printed  silks  he  had  to  feel  his  way  and  find  out,  through  sampling, 
whether  American  dyers  could  successfully  handle  silks  as  they  were 
already  handling  cottons  and  woolens.  The  ready  skill  of  the  Amer- 
ican manufacturer  proved  itself  equal  to  the  task  and  the  dyeing 
establishments  in  this  country  met  the  full  requirements  in  finishing 
silks. 

On  the  score  of  printed  silks  for  all  purposes  it  is  admitted  by 
experts  that  in  design  and  in  execution  the  American  mills  are  pro- 
ducing goods  that  set  a pace  for  the  rest  of  the  world.  So  far  as 
the  per  capita  consumption  of  silk  ribbons  and  all  other  products  of 
silk  other  than  broad  silks  is  concerned  the  record  in  this  country 
stands  unexcelled.  No  more  startling  figures  can  be  shown  than 
those  which  record  the  swinging  of  the  pendulum  of  trade  on  uphol- 
stery goods  from  a point  where  all  the  real  silk  and  plush  goods 
were  imported,  to  a point  at  present  where  practically  only  a small 
percentage  of  goods  enter  American  ports.  There  will  always  be  a 
minor  fraction  of  the  people  who  prefer  to  pay  the  duty  on  imported 
goods,  and  this  demand  is  alone  keeping  life  in  the  import  division 
of  the  upholstery  trade.  On  the  production  of  novelties  in  embroid- 
ery, fringes,  tassels,  and  various  other  small  articles  the  American 
manufacturers  have  not  altogether  given  over  the  field  to  foreigners, 
though  competition  here  is  sharp  in  spite  of  protective  tariff  duty 
in  favor  of  American  manufacturers.  This  is  largely  because  a great 
deal  of  hand  labor  has  to  go  into  the  production  of  such  articles  and 
the  cheaper  wage  scales  of  foreign  countries  can  not  be  overcome 
by  mechanical  perfections  in  American  equipment  and  the  greater 
per  diem  production  of  American  operatives.  It  is  claimed  that  on 
goods  of  this  character  a revision  of  the  tariff  should  be  made  which 
would  afford  a greater  measure  of  protection  than  at  present.  On 
some  classes  of  broad  silks  in  staples  it  might  be  possible  to  have  a 
reduction  made  in  the  tariff  and  still  give  the  American  mills  a 
chance  to  exist. 


SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


GREATER  FIXED  INVESTMENT. 

To  anyone  who  has  inspected  a modem  American  silk  mill  it  will 
not  be  hard  to  realize  wherein  the  plant  represents  a greater  invest- 
ment than  in  similar  mills  in  other  countries  The  designers  of  mills 
in  this  country  have  perfected  their  plants  for  sanitation  and  for 
effective  production  and  the  material  out  of  which  the  mills  are  con- 
structed is  selected  with  a view  to  permanency  of  the  plant  rather 
than  to  see  how  cheap  a mill  can  be  built.  The  cost  of  the  land  on 
which  the  mill  is  situated  is  also  a matter  which  has  to  be  consid- 
ered for  it  enters  into  the  fixed  investment  of  the  enterprise.  Ex- 
amples can  be  shown  of  mills  which  represent  a total  investment  in 
mill  site,  factor}^,  and  equipment  of  $500,000  which  could  be  dupli- 
cated abroad  in  a center  where  adequate  labor  could  be  procured, 
for  not  more  than  $325,000  On  the  excess  investment  the  Ameri- 
can mill  operators  must  figure  interest  charges,  and  these  must 
necessarily  come  out  of  the  sale  of  their  goods  Added  to  this  is  the 
constant  expense  of  a higher  rate  of  wage  for  all  operatives  employed. 
These  two  factors  go  far  toward  establishing  the  final  selling  price 
of  American-made  silks  as  is  the  case  also  in  other  lines  of  textiles. 
The  money  invested  in  the  mills  in  this  country  could  not  have  been 
procured  for  this  purpose  had  not  the  investors  counted  upon  receiv- 
ing more  than  the  4 per  cent  interest  that  would  be  assured  them  in 
a savings  institution.  The  hazard  of  manufacture  has  to  be  con- 
sidered and  a more  attractive  rate  of  interest  looked  for.  It  is 
estimated  that  in  the  silk  industry  since  its  inception  more  money 
has  been  sunk  than  has  been  taken  out  owing  to  the  speculative 
temperament  of  Americans.  As  the  industry  stands  at  the  present 
time  there  are  a number  of  successful  plants  and  the  tendency  is  for 
these  to  increase  their  capacity.  They  are  making,  it  is  estimated, 
on  an  average  of  more  than  8 per  cent  on  the  money  involved.  This, 
it  is  declared,  is  not  disproportionate  to  the  profits  made  in  other 
lines  of  industry. 


V 


O 


3 0112  072698217 


■ 

' 

‘ 

. 


' 


* 

- 


